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Today Audi announced the addition of a small SUV in its lineup, to be known as Q1.

The Q1 CUV will roll off the Ingolstadt production lines starting in 2016.

“The Audi Q1 is part of our broad-based SUV strategy. It is designed on the basis of the modular transverse engine concept and will round off our Q series at the bottom end,” said Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG.

As an attractive entry into the Q family, Audi said the new model will make a strong contribution to the company’s ongoing growth and will strengthen its international competitiveness.

Considering the modular platform engine selection as well as future plans for the Volkswagen Group, of which Audi is part of, diesel, gasoline and electrified versions of the Q1 are strong possibilities. Audi has not yet confirmed any powerplant selection for this new CUV.

The Q1 is part of a significant new models offensive for the German brand. The automaker said it will expand its product range by 2020 from the current 49 to more than 60 models. By then, Audi wants to reach total unit sales of more than two million vehicles each year.

Audi explained the decision to produce the new Q1 model will help to secure utilization of capacity at the main plant in Ingolstadt over the long term. At this site, Audi currently produces models in the A and B segments, namely the A3 and A3 Sportback and the A4/A5 family.

“This is a clear commitment to Ingolstadt as a production site,” said Peter Mosch, Chairman of the General Works Council. “We will continue to make all efforts to develop the plant even further as the leading technological site of the Audi Group.”

The decision on the new model is regarded by many Germans as proof that employee codetermination secures jobs and that the internationalization of the Audi group is not taking place at the expense of the sites in Germany.

Currently, the Q family is composed of the Audi Q3, RS Q3, Q5, SQ5 and Q7. This year, Audi had already delivered 194,430 units of the Q5 to customers by the end of October, which is 17 percent more than in the prior-year period. Approximately 230,000 units of this model are planned to be built in 2013, which is more than half of the total Q volume.

The proportion of the company’s total production volume accounted for by SUVs will be about 28 percent this year, and is planned to rise to more than 35 percent by 2020, per Audi.

Overall, Audi has produced and delivered more than 1.5 million vehicles of the Q family since the launch of the first Q7 SUV in 2006.

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